Bento box review: Gangnam Style! Gangnam bento boxes from South Korea

15 Apr 2013 by maki

Unless you were living as a hermit away from any internet connection last year, you have probably heard of Gangnam Style, the phenomenal video sensation by South Korean entertainer PSY, aka Park Jae-sang, that took over the world. But Gangnam is not just the name of a rap song featuring a geeky looking dude dancing like a madman.. It’s also the name of a district in Seoul, South Korea, and that’s where this interesting line of bento boxes come from.

You’ll notice right away that unlike most reusable bento boxes, these boxes have slanted sides, rather like some disposable bento boxes. This means that they hold a bit less than they seem to - which is not a bad thing, especially if you’re using bentos to try to keep your calories down. The Small size holds 500ml, and the Large holds 900ml, although they feel a lot more bulkier than that somehow. On the plus size, the slanted sides make them a lot easier to wash by hand. You don’t have to wash them by hand though since they are totally dishwasher-safe, unlike many other boxes where the lids must be washed by hand.

Here’s a view from the top. The boxes have clear plastic lids and colorful contrasting color gaskets, which make the lids pretty waterproof. The color combinations may or may not work for you - besides the white and orange and the chocolate and pink combos shown here, there’s also a green/green variety. I was a bit taken aback at first at the brightness of that pink, but now I kind of like it.

The clips are really large and fit securely to the box. They are a bit hard to snap into place the first few times you use the box, but they do loosen up a bit over time.

The lid is also equipped with a covered steam vent, so you can put the box into the microwave lid and all - although I might be inclined to remove the lid to preserve the longevity of the gasket.

Inside, each box has two equally sized inner containers that fit snugly into the box. The inner containers are about the same thickness as the outer boxes, which makes them quite solid - but does make the box overall a bit heavy compared to boxes with thinner and ligher iner compartments. But the inner compartments stand up on their own, which is nice.

The bigger box also has two equal-size compartments.

Here I’ve used the larger (900ml capicity) box for a salad bento. I’ve filled one side with a pasta and chicken salad, and the other with a green salad with corn salad or mâche and boiled egg, with dressing in the small container (not included with this box). It’s really great for bentos of this type, since it’s nice and deep. Plus, you could put something you want to heat up in one compartment and something you want to keep cool in the other, and just pop the first compartment in a microwave to heat up.

Here I tried using the smaller box (500ml) for a more Japanese-style bento, with an onigiri on one side. It kind of works, although you need to work with the slanted nature of the box. (Note, I did tuck in the leaves when I closed the lid.)

The Gangnam bento box: pros and cons

Pros:

Durable and solid feeling; feels very well made, with a nice matte finish

Totally microwave and dishwasher safe; steam vent in lid for microwave use

Slanted sides may make it easier to handwash

Design with a difference

Two removable rigid inner compartments

Big strong clips to hold the leakproof lid securely

Cons:

The slanted sides get a bit of getting used to

A bit heavy and bulky feeling compared to bento boxes of similar capacity

The colors may not be for everyone (I kind of wish there was a black an white or all-black color combination, which I think might be more usable for a wider audience…)

No built in utensils

All in all, there’s a lot to like about the Gangnam bento box. I think I’m going to add them to my regular rotation.

The Gangnam bento box costs US $32 for the large (900ml) size, and $25 for the small (500ml) size, and is available from Bento&co.

(Disclaimer: The boxes were provided to JustBento for review purposes. We did not receive any compensation for the review, and the opinions expressed are solely my own.)

when I first saw these I was really shocked how similar they are to this bento: http://www.black-blum.com/products/bento-box/
Perhaps this design is rather generic? The B+B bento is definitely designed for a western market, although I prefer the gangnam design better. I own the larger B+B box appetit but rarely use it, because it just takes up too much space. also, it leaks. Thanks for the review! ps. from what I can tell from kpop culture, pink is a very fashionable color, esp. for men.

In the UK we have :http://www.black-blum.com/products/box-appetit/
which are almost the same shape, but no steam vent, and there's two triangular containers inside, one large and one small (For sauce) - The lid has a small dish moulded into it for dipping.

I think it's a fairly generic 'takeout bento box' style. The Gangnam bento is a bit better made than the Black + Blum, although both are a bit on the bulky side for their capacity because of the sloping sides.

The black and blum boxes have a design fault! DON'T GET THEM! The company is really really nice, and have great customer service, but the handles on their bento boxes snap off easily when you try to shut them, breaking the box. I bought another one the first time, but it broke in the same way. I wrote to them and they sent me a new one. However, 4 boxes down the line I realised that it was just a design flaw and there was no point in continuously asking for new ones :L So yeah, respect to Black&Blum, they seem like nice people, but don't get their bento boxes

I'm afraid I'm yet another person who thought of black&blum on seeing these.
I do like the inner boxes (it's the one thing I wish monbento would add to their line rather than those disposable liners) and the slanted size would interest me if I was trying to lose weight as my eyes would give misleading messages about the portion size.
Thanks for the review!

I love this bento and was very happy to have bought one, especially because the lid closes firmly... Unfortunately, after just a few uses, 2 of the clips broke (the small round part between the lid and the clip), and my bento can not be used anymore... I am pretty disappointed by this weakness...

Have you tried using those little MonBento sauce cups as mini ice packs? They are pretty sturdy and have a secure lid, so (if not overfilled--expanding ice could crack them in the freezer) they seem like great candidates for keeping small lunches cool. Plain ice or frozen sauce, either way.

My dream monbento liner would be made of ceramic, but the same plastic used as the case as an insert would be a welcome addition to the range.
Something in me squirms when it comes to eating from silicone, so not for me. Would love to see your views having used them (do they tip up in the dishwasher like regular silicon cups?)
My current passion is the Lock&Lock Silby range, plain white ceramic containers with airtight lids. I can make kinpira, salads, tsukemono, furikake etc. and seal them away in the fridge for a few days. Great for bento stashes or just pulled out and plopped onto the table to provide side dishes. Silby ceramic can be frozen and the bowls are oven safe too. Love them!